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Peace Organization
The Peace Organization is one of the five different divisions, or organs, of the Virtue Federation. Its primary function is overseeing the "law and order" side of Virtue territory, being the organ that administers Virtue's top army, the Protectors, as well as Virtue's top police force (the Guards) and Virtue's supreme judiciary (Virtue's Honoured). According to Virtue's Charter, Peace's jurisdiction falls entirely within "neutral Virtue territory" (such as international waters or airspace) and may only operate within a country's borders if that country invited the organ's operatives to participate within the country. The only exception to this rule is when a criminal act involves two or more countries, in which case Peace does not need an invitation to participate. Detractors of Peace assert the organization abuses this exception to bully their way into investigating matters that are seemingly not more than of local importance, with Peace being used to keep "recalcitrant members" in line. Virtue Protectors The Virtue Protectors (or simply, "The Protectors") is Virtue's main military unit. The Protectors have at least one base in each country that is a part of Virtue, and, as set out in the Charter, Virtue's members are each required to spend at least 1% of their GDP towards funding the Protectors, although members may spend more if they like. Ostensibly, the Protectors are not an offensive force, with their official purpose being keeping the peace between two sides after they came to a ceasefire. However, due to the threat of Rome, the Protectors have gained considerable offensive capabilities, allowing them to become a formidable fighting unit all on their own. Thus, they are more often used in more conventional military operations, leading Virtue invasions of enemy territory (such as the Capture of Beijing) or defensive operations. Increasingly, the Protectors have been sent to quell rebellions in member states, with the Protectors even being used (alongside the Guards and the Honoured) to remove administrations that have clashed with Virtue ideals. Virtue Guards The Virtue Guards (or simply, "The Guards") is Virtue's main police force. The Guards have at least two field offices within each Virtue member's territory, with each office equipped with the tools necessary so that each office are able to perform any investigative task. The Charter mandates that each member state provides 0.25% of their GDP towards the Guards, although countries may spend more. Technically, the Guards may be called in to investigate any crime- even petty theft- but the Guards' primary role is to investigate crimes that are of "international" importance, such as terrorism, smuggling, war crimes and organized crime. Their jurisdiction is restricted to international territories within Virtue's territory, unless a criminal activity crosses national borders or if the Guards are invited to investigate a crime by a national law enforcement agency. According to the Charter, only national bodies have the jurisdiction to invite the Guards, but the Guards have been known to take on cases where they have been invited by lower level authorities. Because of the ambiguity involved in defining "criminal activity across state borders", there have been accusations- most notably the arrest of Angolan President Charles Abatu- that the Guards have acted "uninvited" on foreign soil, with the Virtue Family essentially using the Guards as a means of keeping the Friends in line. The Guards continually deny abusing their jurisdiction, noting they have not been once cited by The Honoured for doing so. Virtue's Honoured Virtue's Honoured (or simply "The Honoured") is Virtue's highest level of judiciary. The Honoured serve two primary functions within Virtue- firstly, to adjudicate the cases brought to them by The Guards, and secondly, to serve as a "higher court" should a case reach its final level of appeal within a country. According to the Charter, the only cases the Honoured are not allowed to adjudicate are ones involving challenges to national laws, with the Charter stating it has no intent to rewrite a country's laws. There have been movements to open up The Honoured for this task, but opposition always comes from those worried about The Honoured infringing on their sovereignty. All justices serve until their death or their retirement, should one need replacing, each member of Virtue will nominate a judge from their country and Unity will then vote on the candidates. The Honoured are divided into three different levels of judiciary (starting at the bottom): # Regional Court. Each case brought before The Honoured- even those brought by The Guards- start here. The Honoured define five different regions for the purposes of their court system (location in parenthesis)- the Americas (Salt Lake City, Utah), Europe (Constantinople), Africa (Great Zimbabwe), Western Asia (everything west of India) (Bactra) and Eastern Asia/Pacific (Helene). The Charter does not define a process should there be a dispute between the regional jurisdiction, although it has become customary for the defendant to determine the region the trial takes place in (if there is a conflict). # Hemisphere Court. The middle level of The Honoured court system, there are two separate courts at this level, one for the East and one for the West. The Eastern court sits at Constantinople and encompasses the Regions of the Americas, Europe and Africa, while the Western court sits at Karakorum and handles the Asian courts. # Supreme Court. The highest level of The Honoured court system, the Supreme Court is the final word on any case brought before Virtue. The Court consists of five judges, one from each region, and decides cases with a simple majority. The Court sits in Constantinople. Category:Virtue Federation